Orange Grove Charter School is piloting the first school bus in South Carolina to run on renewable natural gas, setting a new standard in sustainability for buses across the state.The vehicle is named the Cow Fart Bus to highlight how biomethane can come from a variety of natural sources, including cow manure.
The vehicle conversion was made possible through a partnership between Ingevity, a specialty chemicals and material manufacturer based in North Charleston, and American CNG, based in Layton, Utah.
“We were able to take this bus for one weekend and convert it so that it could run on a blend of renewable natural gas and diesel”, commented Dante Marini, Project Engineer, ANG – Ingevity. “Orange Grove has been using our technology for about two months now. They have put about 1,500 miles on the bus and displaced about 100 gallons of diesel.” And in only two months, the school district already saved USD 400.
“Not only is this a much cleaner fuel, but we are also cutting the cost to operate our buses,” said Orange Grove CEO John H. Clendaniel. “These are two things we can feel really good about for both our school and our community.”
The vehicle is refueling bio-CNG through a private refueling station installed on the campus. And because of the fuel system is a blend, drivers do not need to stress about running out of fuel.
Clendaniel also informed this is part of a free pilot program, and that they will be studying the data as it comes in over the summer to determine if this is the next right step for Orange Grove’s other buses.
